The controversial scheme to replace Toll Bar roundabout with traffic lights would be a case of deja vu for residents on the fringes of leafy Beverley.

Just a few years ago, a plan was unveiled in the East Yorkshire market town to transform its Grovehill roundabout into an elaborate traffic light-controlled junction.

Starting in early 2014, over the course of a year, the innocuous, unremarkable grass-island roundabout was gradually changed into a mind-boggling junction of international notoriety featuring more than 40 sets of traffic lights.

Some residents later blamed the baffling interchange for a host of problems from increased congestion and pollution to reducing the value of nearby homes.

Though the Beverley scheme ended up being more complicated than the crossroads plan at Toll Bar , its saga of disruption, controversy and chaos will resonate with those who fear changes at the A16 junction will have a negative impact on the surrounding area.

Unlike Toll Bar, the changes at the East Yorkshire roundabout were part of a much grander road improvement project. The £22m scheme also included the construction of a new 1.7-mile bypass road as well as other alterations in the area.

The current plans see Station Road at Toll Bar roundabout closing to traffic completely for up to eight months. The Beverley roundabout was left partially open to traffic in phases while work was carried out, along with a range of diversions. After around a year of work, the lights were switched on in February 2015, but it wasn't long before a junction previously known only to locals became internationally infamous.

What was once a fairly simple roundabout had been overhauled into a "jungle" of traffic signals, with 43 sets of "intelligent lights", nine pedestrian crossings and numerous lane changes.

Like Toll Bar, the junction is a relatively significant one in its area, linking the eastern side of Beverley to Hull, Driffield, as well as three other roads leading to industrial and residential areas in the town.

East Riding Of Yorkshire Council insisted the traffic lights were introduced to "ensure the safety of all users of the junction, whether drivers, cyclists or pedestrians, and includes controlled phases of the lights for each group of users".

Drivers were not convinced. Following the big switch-on, one motorist said: “The lights look like a fairground – I avoid it like the plague. It’s a total waste of money.

"Things were absolutely fine at the roundabout beforehand – if it’s not broke don’t try and fix it.”

Another said they had lived nearby for 46 years and “it is the worst it has been for traffic since the lights came”.

Toll Bar roundabout, in New Waltham, is set to be replaced with traffic lights (Image: Rick Byrne / Grimsbylive)

Compared by many to Hull Fair's abundance of flashing lights, the junction was dubbed the “red light district” by German newspaper Bild, while a crew from Munich television station Pro-Sieben came to negotiate its 20 different traffic movements.

Months after the lights were switched on, the junction hit headlines again when the signals went dark and, somewhat ironically, drivers said traffic was suddenly moving better despite the apparent recipe for chaos.

That wasn't the end of the saga though. In early 2016, the now infamous "jellybean junction" was back under the spotlight after a report claimed 80 per cent of the UK's traffic lights should be axed to cut jams and boost the economy.

The Institute of Economic Affairs’ (IEA) national report said there was a powerful case against traffic lights, which “have proliferated in the past 20 years”.

Similar to some Grimbarians' suggestions that, if Toll Bar is to have lights they should be part-time, Beverley resident Howard Tomlinson, of the Grovehill Area Action Group, told the Hull Daily Mail: “When the lights went out for a couple of days and traffic flowed smoothly, we suggested there might be some sense in only having them on during peak periods.

“But the council has been sticking to its guns.

“It said a road safety audit was being carried out and there was no real ability for us to challenge them.”

Roadworks at Grovehill roundabout in Beverley, three months before the lights were switched on (Image: Hull Daily Mail)

Following publication of the IEA report, Mr Tomlinson added: “I am inclined to agree in principle about the dubious advantages of over-controlling junctions like Grovehill by a multiplicity of confusing signals, which are an impediment to traffic flow at peak periods – especially when a conventional roundabout at the other end of Swinemoor Lane seems to cope easily with a similar volume of traffic.

“From the outset, the main concern of myself and other members of the Grovehill Area Action Group has been road safety.

“We would have readily accepted the changes to Grovehill junction if it proved to be a safer layout but, unfortunately, it is now more confusing than ever.

“Living near the junction we hear blaring horns and see vehicles mistakenly driving through red lights on a daily basis – it’s not surprising we find it hard to believe this is the best option.”

Residents were also seeking compensation for alleged property devaluation.

As promised, East Riding of Yorkshire Council carried out a review of the junction. Alan Menzies, the authority's director of planning and economic regeneration, said the authority "agreed to listen to what people are saying and we will take their views into account, but it doesn’t mean we will turn the lights off".

He added that the junction is "a balance for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists" and said: "If you turn the lights off, how do you expect pedestrians to cross?”

When published in the summer of that year, the road safety audit recommended engineers should "rationalise where possible" the number of signals.

Plans for Toll Bar roundabout, as shown at a public consultation in Waltham in 2017 (Image: Grimsby Telegraph)

Experts AECOM, which conducted the £5,000 audit, reported: “Throughout the junction, a number of lanes/junction approaches have more signal poles than the audit team consider necessary for the number of approach lanes.

“The overuse of such street furniture increases the risk of collisions occurring between a motorist and signal poles.

“Furthermore, the overuse of vertical elements may obstruct the junction’s inter-visibility zone, restricting the view for approaching motorists.”

However, the engineers behind the junction’s controversial design, Pell Frischmann, insisted there was "no scope for reduction of the number of signal poles”. This was accepted by the council.

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After the audit was published, Mr Tomlinson, of the Grovehill Area Action Group, was not surprised by the findings. He said: "There’s minor acknowledgement of things that can be done to remedy problems. It seems to be a way of saying this is an imperfect junction but we are not going to do much about it.”

Mr Tomlinson said the independent audit vindicated residents’ safety concerns but he doubted traffic lights would be removed.

He added: “There’s not going to be an admission of responsibility for something that is a bit of a liability.”

Toll Bar roundabout

East Riding Council insisted the new signal system "works well" and said it was "unlikely there will be major adjustments".

Though a date has yet to be announced for the start of work at Toll Bar roundabout, residents will be hoping the end result doesn't prove quite as controversial as Beverley's "red light district". Only time will tell.